Ads can't wipe away their legacy of damage and neglect
Tory, Tory: still no story!
In mid-February, the Ontario PC Party’s bid to take Ontario backwards continued. John and the Tories unveiled an ad campaign that fails to cover up John Tory’s inability to outline a vision for Ontario, or move the Conservative Party from their hard-right roots, said George Smitherman, Deputy Premier and Toronto Centre-Rosedale MPP.
“The Conservatives stand for cuts to schools, cuts to hospitals, and cuts to our environment,” said Smitherman. “You can dress it in fancy clothes but the result is the same.”
John Tory’s leadership is so weak, it has failed to move the Conservatives past its right-wing caucus, right-wing candidates, and tired, holdover right-wing policies, like ripping $2.5 billion out of health care, and taking money from public schools to hand it over to private schools.
And now Randy Hillier - a living caricature of negative rural stereotypes - is set to run under the John Tory's Conservative banner. Hillier has stated he wants to help write their platform.
“There is nothing progressive about the party. The 3-H crowd: Harris-Harper-Hillier is in charge. Ontarians cannot afford to have them running this province,” said Smitherman. “We’ve seen that movie: bigger classes, longer wait times, water that you can’t drink and air you can’t breathe.”
Smitherman said the ads launched today can’t wipe away the years of cuts, damage and neglect.
“The Ontario Liberals will stay focused on a positive agenda of smaller classes, shorter wait times, a cleaner environment and a strong economy,” Smitherman said.
The Harris Conservatives stuck the City of Mississauga with the GTA Pooling that sends some $40 million of Mississauga taxpayers' funds to the City of Toronto each year. The Tories created the chaos that was our school system, and neglected infrastructure for nine long years.
In nine long, empty Tory years, nothing at all was done on public transit in Ontario, other than having the provincial government discontinue funding transit in 1998. In 2007, by contrast, Mississauga will see the continuing fruits of good Liberal management with the opening of the Lisgar GO Train Station. Two cents per litre of the gas tax now flows to the City of Mississauga for public transit.
The Credit Valley Hospital should have built "A" and "H" Blocks (Phase II, announced by Bob Delaney in August 2005) before it built the Carlo Fidani Regional Cancer Centre. The Tory government of the day even did capital improvements -- when it did them at all -- backwards.
John and the Tories are trying to shore up support from what should be the party faithful with a desperation ad campaign. The truth is that Mississauga votes for good government, and that means the Liberal Party and Bob Delaney in Mississauga Streetsville.
Date posted: Monday, February 12, 2007